Or, "What Being a Book Blogger Means to Me."News about
Book Blogger Appreciation Week is everywhere now, and nominations are starting. I love this concept. It's a great idea to help promote readership, to recognise the efforts of people who blog about the awesome books they read, and gives people a well-deserved sense of accomplishment if they win one of the awards.
That being said, I won't be registering Tea & Tomes for consideration.
Why? In a nutshell, I don't think this blog is worthy of any awards. I'm not saying that as a way of fishing for sympathy. I'm just stating my opinion of the matter. This blog is very new, has very few followers (though I love each and every one of the people who take the time to read my bookish ramblings), and doesn't have a particularly impressive layout. St the very best, I might be able to submit it for a Best New Book Blog award, but when blogs like
Floor-to-Ceiling Books are in the same category, I don't stand a chance. (Admit it, Amanda, you know your blog is awesome!)
Again, not fishing for sympathy. Just stating what I think. Perhaps next year, this blog will have come far enough along that I might feel comfortable submitting it for consideration. But this baby's only really 6 months old, and needs a lot of work.
These awards do make me think about why I started this blog, though. I figured, in the beginning, that I read a lot of books and have opinions on them. I did the
50 Book Challenge on LiveJournal for quite a number of years in a row, and figured heck, why not get a blog dedicated to talking about the books I read.
I didn't realise what kind of doors that would open up for me. I may not have noticed so much before, but I read a lot of the same books over and over again. Sure, I may have read over 50 books every year, but usually at least half of them were books I'd read the previous year, and the year before that... Doing a book blog made me realise that I couldn't get away with that. I'd have to branch out, read new things, take a chance on new books that I may have passed over before. I've already found a few fantastic books this way that I might not have even considered picking up otherwise, like Michael Grant's
Gone.
I didn't realise how many wonderful new people I'd meet. Half a year into this, and I've made some acquaintances, contacts, and dare I even say friends. I've actually had people sending me free books, in exchange for simply offering my opinions on them. I've been alerted to a thousand and one new books that I want to read (whether I can afford them is another matter), and actually had a chance to talk to an author or two, even if just in passing. I've been invited to a convention, even if I had to turn down the invitation. Sometimes I think about all this and can't quite wrap my head around it all.
This is, I think, the most fun project I've ever embarked upon, and I don't regret doing it for a moment. And if I do have any regrets, it's that I don't seem to be able to read and review fast enough for my own liking!
I wish everyone the best of luck in the Book Blogger Awards. Maybe next year, I'll feel confident enough to join you!
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